Ties of Blood
by Fickle Illusions
Summary: Being the daughter of one of the FBI's best agents is a heavy burden for young Rose Hathaway. After living her life in the shadow of the illustrious Janine Hathaway and working towards a future she's not sure she wants, Rose is finally given the chance to prove herself. Blood is thicker than water but when blood is put against blood and love is found, who will come out victorious?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Everybody! Eeesh, first story I'll have had posted in quite a while now so take a read and lemme know what chu guys think **

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Vampire Academy. All rights go to the amazing Richelle Mead.**

"I brought doughnuts!" Were the first words I heard two minutes after I walked into my office for the day. They were probably the best words a person could hear at seven in the morning.

"My hero!" I exclaimed swinging around in my seat as Mason made his way in, a large white box in his hands.

He chuckled and placed them on my desk before taking a seat on the other side of it. I was ripping into the box the moment his hands had left them. Flipping open the lid, I found twelve strawberry iced doughnuts staring at me, practically begging me to eat them. Who was I to argue with the will of sweet, doughy goodness? I grabbed two – one in each hand – and looked back up to Mason who was still laughing.

"So," I said around a mouthful of doughnut. "What's up, Mase? You only bring me doughnuts when you've messed something up." It was true, too. The last time he'd brought me a box of chocolate iced doughnuts was when his office was in being renovated and he, wanting to impress a girl had taken her to see my office instead. I'd later landed on my ass after trying to sit in my chair – which they'd broken – before finding a red G-sting hanging off my potted palm. Needless to say, he wasn;t allowed into my office alone after that – I would have said at all but those damn doughnuts he'd bought had done their job. I was bribed.

"Hey!" he exclaimed as he mocked offense. "I do _not _only bring doughnuts when I mess up. I bring them because I am a lovely friend that you, my dear, are plain lucky to have."

I scoffed. "What's really up?"

He dropped the act.

"I heard your mom's coming in later."

I chocked on the doughnut I was devouring. "What?!"

"Yeah, apparently her team are looking into some big case and it's moved down here," he told me sympathetically.

I groaned. I hadn't seen my mother for a few months now and I thanked my lucky stars for everyday that I didn't see her.

Agent Janine Hathaway was one of the best agents the FBI had ever seen. Screw that, she was the best of the _very _best that they'd seen. I'd admit it – she was damn good. She was a small lady with flaming red hair, crazy expectations and a personality that rivalled that of Adolf Hitler. She was also the most intimidating woman that I'd ever met. She'd successfully cracked every case she took on and there wasn't a single officer I'd met that had not looked up to her. Like I said, she was a damn good agent.

She was also however, a crap parent.

Being the only daughter of Agent Janine Hathaway was without a doubt hard. She ruled with an iron fist and growing up it was always her way or the highway. She'd enrolled me into school when I was four – younger than any other student in my class – and when I'd graduated at seventeen, she'd shoved me off to become an officer of the law. Being under eighteen, I hadn't had any choice at the time and by the time I did turn eighteen, everyone already knew me as 'Hathaway Junior'. I was expected to live up to the living legend herself. And so I tried. I was doing extremely well too until she decide that being a police officer wasn't enough anymore. She'd pulled a few (more like a lot) strings and gotten me a job in the FBI. After uprooting my life and replanting as she wished, she'd left me alone.

The last time I'd seen her had been four months ago, on my twenty-first birthday. She'd flown in to Montana, given me a weird blue eye pendant thing, bitched me out for having a drink and took the next flight out.

Needless to say, I was not looking forward to seeing her again.

"I have to say," Mason began slowly. "I'm sort of excited to meet her. She's a legend. I want to know what weapons legends like her work with. What do you think she uses? Oh my goodness, can you just imagine her with nun chucks?!" his eyes lit up as he spoke and I resisted the urge to reach out and smack him.

"She's an agent, Mase. An agent in America. She clearly uses a fucking a gun," I snapped. I understood that everyone got excited at the mention of Janine Hathaway but come on! He was friend. He was meant to be on my side, agreeing with me as I bitched the old grump out. Instead, I could practically imagine him wearing a cheerleader's outfit with a big letter 'J' on it, his messy red hair held up in pigtails.

"Oh. Right," at least he had the decency to look embarrassed as he glanced down at his watch. "Anyway, I'd better go. Eddie's probably in now. Ciao."

Eddie was his partner. Well, not officially. Eddie and Mason just worked better as a team than they did apart. They'd sort of formed an informal team, both in and out of work. They were inseparable and had been asked more than once if they were in a relationship.

"Adios," I replied glumly as I looked back at the doughnuts. They didn't look nearly as appealing now that I knew my mother was coming. Still, I couldn't let ten doughnuts go to waste.

Taking a deep breath, I dug in.


	2. Chapter 2

**Aaaaand here comes chapter two! I'm still trying to find my way back to writing so it will be a little iffy. Hopefully, I'll find my groove soon. This one goes to VAGypsy – my first reviewer – so thank you very muchly for your lovely, lovely review. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not in any way own Vampire Academy. Rights go to Richelle Mead.**

It was around noon that my mother decided to grace us with her presence.

My asshole boss Stan Alto had called us all into the meeting room, a huge grin plastered on his face, before introducing us to the famous Agent Hathaway. Her eyes swept of the room briefly, her expression stayed impassive as her gaze met mine. Geez, would it kill the lady to show a little affection?

Beside her stood a man who looked to be in his mid-forties. He introduced my mother before introducing himself as Hans Croft.

"Alright," Janine began. The room quietened down as soon as she opened her mouth. She held everyone's complete attention. "You've all been gathered here for a reason. That reason is murder, drug trafficking and who knows what other illegal activities – better known as Peak Fitness."

Okay, now she had my interest. Still, I was Rose Hathaway and I wasn't one to sit around quietly and miss a quip.

"Right," I drawled out. "Murder and drugs, hey? Sound like the usual. What I don't understand is why you need us. Isn't your team meant to be the best? Why does the director need our help with your case? "

Her eyes narrowed on me as her lips pursed themselves into a thin line. "Perhaps, Agent Hathaway, if you would let me speak you will find out we are here."

"If you wish, Agent Hathaway, I can send her out?" Alto offered.

I almost accepted before realising he was speaking to my mom. Phew, that would be embarrassing.

"It's fine," she told Alto, waving him off before continuing as though I hasn't said anything. "My team and I have been investigating Peak Fitness holdings for several months now. They are – as their name suggests – a fitness company that owns quite a lot of branches. However, we believe that the gyms are just a front for illegal activities. Peak Fitness originally started with one small gym in Omsk-"

"-Russia?" Meredith questioned, a deep frown settling over her face. "I-I don't understand. Surely they're Russia's problem?"

"They were," my mother clarified. "Up until seven months ago when they started to expand their holdings. Peak Fitness may have started out with one small gym in Omsk but their growth has been phenomenal. Within their first month of business in Omsk, they managed to open another thirteen branches within Russia. Their growth only increased from there. After three months and thirty-eight branches in Russia, Peak Fitness has expanded internationally. They now have holdings in multiple European and Asian countries, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and several throughout Africa."

"But not America?" Asked agent Nagy. He was an older agent with a dry personality and a problem with alcohol. I usually did what I could to avoid him.

"Five months ago they began talk of their first American branch," Hans answered. "They're starting out small, mostly wanting just a branch in each of the major regions. We investigated them as best we could but there's not a lot you can learn from hired staff when they're so far down in the chain. Whoever runs Peak Fitness is a slimy bastard, we just can't get a hold of them – that's about to change though," he added almost as an afterthought.

"What's different this time?" I asked. "What's changed since your investigation?"

Janine smiled. "Peak Fitness opened their first American gym last month - in Montana. They haven't got a hope in hell now that they're on our turf."

"We'll be sending three of you in undercover," Hans told us, a predatory smile making its way to his lips. "Then we'll have all the evidence we need to put these bastards away."

"Surely not three?" Stan asked, his eyes popping wide. "How could you possible send three new American employees to the head office of a Russian company? They'll never go for it. It's too risky. You may be a Special Agents, but these are my agents. I won't risk it," he told them as he shook his head.

What? What was happening? Had Stan lost his mind that he was actually trying to protect us? The man didn't have a single caring bone in his useless body that I knew of.

"You don't have a choice," my mother responded, the familiar Hathaway bite in her words. "We're under the Director's order so if you have a problem, you will take it up with him. Agent Croft and I are not here to negotiate. We will be sending three of your agents in over the next month. We have already dispatched Agent Ivashkov who has successfully infiltrated the group. We will be sending another agent in next week – we will begin assessing agent right after this meeting is done," She was using her no nonsense voice and I was glad that I wasn't the only one it worked on. Every agent nodded – even those looking more than a little pale.

"By Monday you will know who the first agent going in will be. Consider it an honour to be put on our taskforce. Whoever this snake is, we'll put them away."

"Does our snake have a name?" Alto asked, bitterness seeping into his voice. Huh, she'd said one little thing to him and he couldn't handle it. Try twenty-one years of not being good enough.

"Not that we yet know of," Hans replied. "We have only yet come into contact with lower level staff who have not had the privilege knowing the name of their employer."

"Wait," I called out, pinning my gaze on my mother. "You mean to tell me that you don't even though the name of whoever it is you're chasing? How the hell do you know they're doing something illegal then?!" I asked incredulously. It was unlike Special Agent Janine Hathaway to not have solid evidence behind her.

"Because no company grows that fast, Rosemarie-"

"That's Agent Hathaway, thanks," I interrupted drily.

"Of course," she responded smoothly, her eyes void of emotion. "No company grows that fast. There are processes – investors, permits, certification and legal paperwork, finding qualified staff – and it's all just been met too quickly."

"I guess that makes sense," I admitted. "And the name? Who are we trying to take down? Or should we make up our own nickname? Peak Fitness guy, perhaps?"

"He has a nickname," Hans said. "We aren't the only organisation trying to take him down. Peak Fitness' leading competitor and Russia's previous leading fitness company Dashkov Enterprises named the head of Peak Fitness a nickname. Almost every rival business has accepted it."

"And that is . . .?" I asked slowly. What was with all the suspense?

"Zmey. He's called 'Zmey'.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy or its characters. All rights go to Richelle Mead.**

"Meredith's been sent in."

My head snapped up at the words. They came from Eddie who leant against my door frame.

"What?" I asked stupidly.

"May I come in?" he asked.

Rolling my eyes, I nodded. _Always the polite one. _He walked in and took a seat across me

"I came in early this mor-"

"-Of course you did," I muttered. Eddie was extremely committed to this job and whilst I applauded his love for the FBI, I had yet to feel as much passion as him. That was probably because he didn't his mother breathing down his neck. That or that he actually chose this life for himself.

Ignoring me, he continued. "-ning. I head Croft, your mom and Alto talking. Apparently, the assessed Meredith yesterday and she's working her way in today – hey, speaking of which, did you get assessed?"

"No," I shook my head. "Why? Did you? Did Mason?"

"No, and that's the weird thing. They were only assessing people for like four hours before they called it a day. They would have only managed to assess, what? Like five people? If this assignment is so important, why are they rushing into this?"

I sat up straighter and frowned. He had a good point.

"Maybe she was really convincing?" I suggested, not even managing to convince myself. Don't get wrong, Meredith was a good agent - she had to be to work for the FBI – but she had a more hands-on approach to her work. She wasn't someone that I'd recommend for undercover work. Give her a gun and she'd have on the floor in a pool of your own blood before you could blink; but asking her to lie and sneak around for an undetermined amount of time? Yeah, I wouldn't bet on it.

"Meredith? Really? You and I both know she's not undercover material. She's never worked undercover before – how the hell is she meant to spend every day working for these people without cracking? I once asked her to guard my lunch from Mason while I went to the bathroom and when I got back all my food was gone," he told me.

"She's not a security guard, Eddie," I pointed out.

"No," he agreed. "But when I asked her where it all went, she turned red and told me that in the three minutes I was gone, she got really hungry. She told me she ate it when Mason was sitting _right next to her _with my drumstick halfway in his mouth. I'm telling you, Rose, that girl cannot lie for the life of her."

"She may have to," I said grimly. None of us really knew what we were up against with this 'Zmey'. Meredith literally may have to lie for her life.

"My point is, they're being hasty. There are quite a few people here who are better suited for this job. I just can't believe they sent her in without assessing the rest of us," he shook his head, his light brown hair flopping into his eyes.

"You need a haircut," I told him absentmindedly. "It must be pretty urgent if they've already dispatched her. It's the only reason I can think off," I told him.

"They're just handling things so weirdly and they won't even tell us why! I mean, what was the deal with that thing about sending multiple people in? What kind of person risks an operation and agents _lives _by sending in so many people? Everyone knows that the more people you send in, the riskier it gets!" Eddie yelled. I flinched a little but I didn't blame him. Eddie lived and breathed his work – I could understand why he was frustrated.

"Look," he began, calmer. "Could you maybe speak to your mom? Ask her a bit more about it?"

"Do you not know who my mom is?" I asked incredulously. "Eddie, she won't tell me shit."

"Could you at least try?"

I sighed and rubbed my forehead in agitation. No, I really didn't want to try. I didn't want to speak to Janine for a second longer than I had to but Eddie was good friend and if our roles were reversed, he would have done it for me.

"Fine," I groaned. "I'll speak to the beast but you're buying me lunch."

"Deal," he smiled. "Thanks."

"Don't thank me yet. Thank me if she actually tells me something useful."

"Who was right? I was right! The fucking bitch wouldn't tell me anything!" I huffed as I stormed into the office Eddie and Mason shared.

Two sets of eyes moved to my face and I froze. One set were amber and most definitely belonged to Eddie. The other were a dull brown and most definitely did _not _belong to Mason.

_Fuck!_

Oh well. Too late to take it back. Better play it classic Hathaway style – charming, bold and funny.

"Special Agent Croft," I smiled sweetly at Hans. "I didn't know you'd be conducting interviews in our own offices. I thought it'd be more formal, you know like facing a disciplinary committee. You, Janine, Agent Alto all sitting at like a greater height and interrogating us. I can see that I was wrong. What's that smell? Oh my goodness, are you guys having Thai?!" And sure enough, they were. 'Thai-time' takeout containers rested between the two on Eddie's desk.

"Why would we resemble a disciplinary committee, Agent Hathaway? You are all grown, capable adults. Are you telling me otherwise?" he didn't look impressed at all. Before I could answer he continued. "Now if you'll excuse us, we're in the middle of something."

Oh, right. Eddie's assessment. I'd almost forgotten that that was what I'd walked into. I was pretty sure I'd hear from Eddie about that later.

"Oh right, my bad," I laughed as I moved in closer to the desk. Croft frowned at me, probably because he'd pretty much just asked me to leave and Eddie gave me a what-the-hell look. I grinned at them both before swooping up one of the 'Thai-time' containers and booking it for the door.

"You did say you'd buy me lunch!" I sang over my shoulder before hightailing it.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hullooooo fellas! A big thanks to everyone who took the time to review. Just letting you guys know that uni has started for me so I'm not too sure at the moment of how often I'll update - hoping to keep it to at least once a week. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. Rights go to Richelle Mead.**

I couldn't remember being so nervous as I sat in leather desk chair and focused on looking picture perfect calm. I drummed my fingers on the armrest as I watched Hans take a sip of this coffee.

All the bravado I'd shown during Eddie's assessment had fluttered away and I was left feeling anxious and tense. I really had to give Eddie some credit when I was done in here. It wasn't that I really, really wanted the job or anything – it was just a chance to prove myself. To be deemed worthy of doing something by somebody other than my mother – that wasn't to say that she just approved of everything I did. She barely approved of anything I did but that wasn't public knowledge. Janine Hathaway's approval wasn't easy to gain but to someone who didn't know us – and the fucked up relationship we shared – it would look as though she was handing me everything. My entry to police academy, acceptance onto the force and later the FBI was something I'd been assumed to have got due to my mother. IN reality I had worked my butt off for everything I had. Still, it would be nice to have someone else's approval backing me up.

The whole thing had made me so edgy that there were still four doughnuts left on my desk. Just as he had with Eddie, Hans had brought food. My assessment had begun at 10.30am so instead of lunch he'd brought me morning tea. It hadn't done much to rest the nerves though. However, I was still a Hathaway and in true Hathaway fashion I had painted on a confident smile and sat with my back straight. I held eye contact and spoke steadily. In all honesty, Hans probably didn't even know I feeling even a tiny bit apprehensive about this. I glanced at the clock and inwardly cheered – only another ten minutes to go.

"Your records show you graduated police academy at the top off your class," Hans read from my file.

"Yup," I responded. "Didn't really have a choice with the beast as my mother, ya know?"

He ignored me. "So fitness shouldn't be an issue?"

"No, it wouldn't be," I told him firmly. It was true – working out was actually a hobby so my fitness levels were pretty good. I trained daily – even on days off.

"Your academics haven't always been the best."

"I passed in everything."

"Not with the best grades. Tell me why I should pick you when there are many agents with a much better academic record?" he wasn't rude when he asked me; just challenging. He had reason too. My grades had sucked at the academy sucked for a couple of months until I'd gotten a phone call from Janine. Somehow that woman had managed to kick my ass back into shape over the phone. A month later and I was at the top of my academic studies too.

"Because it's not all about academics, Special Agent Croft. It's also about skills and abilities. You already know I graduated at the top of my class so there's no question of my physical capabilities, as for my other skills - I can lie," I told him frankly. "Lying my way in will be a piece of cake – I've done undercover work before – and if by some fluke I get caught, I can lie my ass out it, just as well as I can kick ass out of it or flirty my ass out of it. I don't have family, Hans, so I've got nothing to lose. If you pick me and I'll dive right in. I'll give you one-hundred-and-fifty percent of myself."

He nodded thoughtfully but his face gave nothing away.

"Well, I thank you for your time, Agent Hathaway," he drawled as he stood up and stuck his hand out for me to shake. I stood up as well and met his hand with mine. The guy had a firm grip alright, it felt like an alligator was holding on.

"Thanks for having me," I replied politely. Huh, looks Janine had taught me something good after all.

He nodded and I showed him to the door, even though it was only about two metres from where we'd previously sat.

Once out into the hallway, I was a little surprised to find Mason and Eddie and Jesse leaning up against the wall next to my door. Jesse was another agent I worked with. He was actually the hottest agent I worked with and quite possible one of the guys I'd ever met. All three of them smiled when they saw me and I indicated for them to come in.

"How long have you been there?" I asked as we all sat down around my desk. I sat in my usual seat behind my desk with Mason and Eddie across me. I only had three chairs in my office so Jesse sat on the edge of my desk. As he placed a hand behind him to support himself, his muscles flexed under his uniform, leaving my mouth watering. I forced myself to look unaffected.

"A while," Mason replied vaguely.

"What for?" I frowned.

"I was actually planning on busting in," Eddie laughed. "Lighten the atmosphere for you like you did for me."

He actually wasn't being sarcastic. Apparently when I'd busted into his assessment and made an ass of myself, I'd somehow managed to ease his nerves a little. I was just glad he didn't kick my ass for it.

"Why didn't you?" I asked.

"Um, because you're Rose Hathaway," he told me, his tone obvious. "I figured you were sailing through, like you did when he was assessing me."

I groaned.

"Did it not go well?" Mason asked as he leaned forward in his seat, his face painted with concern.

"My academics weren't up to scratch."

"Didn't you graduate at the top of your class?" Eddie asked, frowning.

"Yup, but there was a brief period where I was in a state of funk. My work sort of reflected it," I admitted.

"Well, cheer up," Jesse said, speaking for the first time since entering my office. "We're all going out tonight. Now that all four of us have been assessed we can stop holding out breaths and celebrate."

When had we become 'all four'?

I liked Jesse – there was no denying it. I'd been into him for a good couple of months now and flirted with him quite frequently. Jesse, however, was a playboy. He flirted shameless back at him but never took the next step by asking me out (which fyi, I really, _really_ wanted him to) because he was quite happy hooking up with practically every other woman he bumped into. Mason and Eddie – who were damn decent guys – didn't like him for this particular reason. They didn't actually know that I was into Jesse; they just didn't like him because of the way he apparently treated women.

"Yeah, we need to celebrate," Mason agreed.

"Bu-"

"-no," Eddie interrupted my protest. "I know you feel weird clubbing with a bunch of guys but man, Rose, we all need this. It's been such a shit week. I've already decided on it and we're going to 'Vlad's'."

I sighed and nodded, accepting defeat. He was right – it _had _been a shit week – and Eddie barely ever went out. If he decided it, who was I to argue? Besides, it wasn't like we could do anything more for our assessments. It was in Alto, Hans and the Hathaway Senior's hands now.

That night we went out and let loose. We let our stress about assessments go and it was a good thing that we did because two weeks passed as we still hadn't heard anything about the assignment.

That's why when on the Friday of the third week I was surprised to be called into Alto's office and even more so to find Eddie and Jesse already seated there. One empty chair remained and Alto gestured for me to sit. Once I was seated he made a move back to his own seat, settling into the black leather before leaning forward, his arms resting on his desk.

I leaned back in my seat knowing that due to our close proximity when he finally opened his mouth, the acrid stench of his coffee-breath would make want to retch. When Stan opened his mouth, it was never good.

"You're in," he said at last. _Did he just say we were in?_ "For the 'Peak Fitness' assignment. You're in," he repeated.

I felt my eyes widen – Stan had just opened his mouth and for the first time in history, something good had come out.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. Rights go to Richelle Mead.**

* * *

I stood in front of the mirror.

A girl stared back at me, her long dark hair bound up into a high ponytail. Her dark eyes were serious and she stood tall – clad in her new Peak fitness uniform.

At least the uniform was super comfy consisting of a pair of black sports leggings and a lilac polo shirt with 'Peak Fitness' embroidered on the top right corner. I had a lanyard around my neck which held my staff card – basically my name and a photo of me with a barcode below it so that I could enter parts of the building that were off-limits to the customers. The staff card also had the word 'INTERN' printed below my name so that everyone knew that I was still learning.

Getting into 'Peak Fitness' had been easier than I thought it would be. I'd been 'dismissed' as an FBI agent and sent in with my real name. I'd had doubts – actually I was pretty sure I'd be shot on the spot – but it had all worked out quite well. They'd brought it up at my job interview but I'd told them that I was pushed into by mother and that I'd hated working there with everything I had in me. I told them that I resented my mother for it and that once I'd been sent to a different branch away from her, I'd quit. That part had been false of course but we were the ones manipulating the situation here.

After one last look-over, I deemed myself presentable and made my way to the door, scooping up my keys on the way.

The drive to 'Peak Fitness' didn't take long – it was situated less than fifteen minutes away – but I felt a little guilty for using my car. I was officially representing good health and here I was getting to my new job the lazy way. I could only hope that my new employers didn't think anything of it.

When I got there I was glad to see the staff section of the carpark full and I briefly glanced over them as I walked past, hoping to spot Eddie's little green Prius. I sighed when I found it. Don't get me wrong – I confident I could bring these people down, it would just be nice to have a friendly face around. Taking a deep breath, I walked in.

The building was familiar enough considering that I'd been in there three times now – once to apply for the job, the second when I got an interview and the third to sign my paperwork and get a tour. The building wasn't exactly huge so I fairly comfortable.

I was greeted by the sight of the large reception desk which had three people seated behind it. A lady sat watching me whilst two younger girls sat talking. I recognised one of them as Meredith but kept my features neutral as I made my way over to where the older lady sat.

"Welcome to Peak Fitness. May I help you?" she asked politely. I almost rolled my eyes at her - I was lined up so I clearly needed help. Up close she looked older than I'd originally thought; she had to been somewhere towards her early to mid-fifties.

"Uh, hey. My name's Rose. Today's my first day. Is Mikhail around?" I asked, referring to the guy I'd had my interview and tour with. He'd told me he was the assistant manager when he'd met the first time. Apparently the actual manager had been away at the 'managers meeting'. The 'managers meeting' was pretty held at the start of every month and the managers of all 'Peak Fitness' braches got together to discuss marketing and strategies.

"Ahh, yes," she gave me a weird look but quickly replaced it with a false smile. "I'll just call him."

She grabbed what I imaged was the PA and called an announcement for 'Milkhail to make his way to reception'.

Seconds later I caught his figure as he made his way over. He grinned when he saw me and stuck his hand out for me to shake.

"Rose! I'm glad you came back!"

"When was I not going to?" I asked, a little confused.

He scratched the back of my neck. "Er, some of the other guys thought I was a bit too enthusiastic last time I saw you. They got the impression that I'd scared you off."

"What? No! You're great!" I laughed, punching his shoulder. _That _was most definitely something that I hadn't done at the FBI but so far, I really liked it here. Mikhail was really cool – especially for someone with power – and I'd liked the staff I'd met on my tour. It seemed like a dynamic environment.

"Oh, phew! Had me worried for a sec," he faked wiped sweat from his brow in exaggeration. "Oh hey, Alberta, meet Rose. She's out latest and greatest. Rose, this is Alberta: also assistant manager, although she has more to do with the business side of this around here."

I turned to Alberta and smiled politely. "Hey."

She smiled back and gave me her hand to shake before turning to Mikhail. "When did you hire her?"

Oh. Well that would explain the look. She didn't know I'd been hired. Wait, didn't Mikhail just say that she co-managed this place?

"She came 'bout a week and a half ago but head office only got back with the paperwork on Tuesday. It's all been sent up and processed so she'd good to go. Don't give me that look, Al. Belikov's approved her."

The disapproval that had set over her face cleared up immediately.

"Ah. You should have said so," she told him. "It's nice to meet you, Rose. Belikov won't be in for another half hour but I could give you a tour if you like? And introduce you to the others?"

I glanced at Mikhail. Would it be rude to tell her that I'd already looked around?

"Actually, I showed her around on Friday. She met some of the staff when she was here and I'm sure Belikov will introduce her to the rest when he gets in."

"Right, well I'll show her administration side of things."

Mikhail agreed and after wishing me good luck, went back to work.

I was now faced with Alberta who was sort of an intimidating woman. Working for the FBI had intimidation beat out of me but as I looked up at this ageing woman, I realised some of it was still there.

"Well, come around," she told me. "First of all, I'd like you meet Jill and Amy. Jill, Amy, this is Rose -our new trainer."

I gave a small wave to Jill and 'Amy' as I introduced myself. I really had to force myself not to laugh at the fact that Meredith had been sent in as 'Amy'. Everyone at the office knew that 'Amy' was the name Stan had given to his pet mouse. Poor Meredith.

"Actually, I'm not fully qualified yet. A few more weeks and I should be though," I told them. That was the catch. Because I had no real experience in training people, the FBI had enrolled me into a personal training course that was supposed to be done at a flexible part-time rate over six months.

I'd smashed it in two weeks but I still had to wait six weeks before completing the mandatory three day on-campus part of the course. The theory part of my training had been enough for Peak Fitness to hire me. Eddie however, had been sent in as a fully qualified trainer. As a more experienced agent, Eddie had run quite a few of the training sessions for younger recruits so my mother had deemed that we could pass him off as a trainer. All this qualifications and documentation had been forged.

"That's cool," Jill told me. "I'm just excited to have another girl around here."

Meredith snorted. "And what am I exactly?"

"I-I meant, be-before you," Jill stuttered. I raised my eyebrows. Did they have a problem with each other?

"Enough," Alberta cut in. "Get back to work."

With girls now occupied, Alberta launched into an admin lecture. She taught me the basics, like clocking in and out before moving onto the more complicated – such as member recruitment and security details. It was a lot to take in but I think I managed alright.

At nine-thirty on the dot, the sliding doors opened and I took a deep breath. Alberta had told me to try my best serving whoever walked in next through the door. I looked up, ready to catch their eye and encourage them over.

As it turns out I didn't need to. The moment they walked through the doors, their eyes met mine.

Deep, deep brown eyes. I forced my gaze away from his to take the rest of him in. He was tall, like really tall – six-five or six-six maybe? He had long, dark hair that had been pulled into a pony tail at the nape of his neck. A slight coat of stubble brushed against his strong jawline and I found myself almost salivating. The man was perfection. I'd never seen someone so attractive in my life. Well, that was until I caught sight of his clothes.

His track pants were a pretty standard sight in a gym - as was his polo for that matter. What struck me as odd though – really, really odd – was the long jacket he wore over his outfit. A duster, I think it was called. Regardless of whatever it was called, it had taken this gorgeous man and made him look like he'd walked right out of a western movie. I couldn't stop staring.

That was until he walked over to me and I readied myself to speak. However, before I could say a word, he offered me his hand. I took and he shook it firmly.

"You must be Rosemarie. My name is Dimitri Belikov. I'm the manager here at Peak Fitness."

I let my man-eater grin play over my lips as I took in my attractive new 'boss'.

"Call me Rose, I think I'm going to enjoy working for you."

* * *

**Quick note: I'd love to get some thoughts on how you guys would feel if the next chapter was in DPOV so please drop me a comment and let me know if it's something you'd want to see.  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. All rights go to Richelle Mead.**

"Belikov," the voice answered before the dial had even finished ringing.

"Zmey," I responded, referring to him by his public nickname. Ibrahim Mazur was a private man and quite reluctant to freely hand his name out. Without a name to the head of one of Russia's lead fitness companies, the competition and public had taken to referring to Abe as 'Zmey' – the Russian term for snake. I wouldn't argue with that; Abe was the most sly, cunning person I'd met in my twenty-eight years of life.

"To what do I owe the pleasure?" his voice rumbled through. I could practically image him stroking his goatee as he spoke.

"I wanted to run something past you. Tanner's just forwarded me a résumé that was dropped in earlier. He spoke briefly with the girl applying as a trainer."

He clucked his tongue impatiently. "You know that you don't need to check in with me for recruitment, Belikov. I trust your judgement and if you trust the judgement of your staff, then I trust it too."

"Will you just listen to me?" I asked, hearing my voice tighten.

"Go on," he told me after a moment of silence. I had a feeling he'd been nodding.

"Tanner likes her so I checked out her resumé. Abe, she's an ex-FBI agent."

Silence again.

"Zmey?"

"Does she still work for them?" he asked slowly.

"No. She left them a few months ago."

"Is she qualified?"

"Not fully. She's enrolled in a course and she's done the bulk of the work. She's just needs to attend a few on-campus training days but the institution's not holding them for another couple of months."

"So she'll need constant supervision."

"Only when training."

"You're considering hiring her," he stated. His voice held no accusation.

"We're getting busier each day, Abe. We need more staff and like I said, she's ex-FBI. She'd be at a completely different training level than most applicants. Tanner said she's energetic, outgoing, and enthusiastic. He thinks she's perfect for the job and I trust his judgment."

"But there's that one little catch," he sighed. "Casting Tanner aside for the moment, what do you think? Do you want her on your team?"

I thought of the beautiful dark haired girl grinning at me from the top right-hand corner of her resumé. I didn't fully know just yet if I wanted her working for me but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't considering it.

"I think she could be an asset, yes. Look, I just need to get your angle on her employment with the FBI." I told him as I ran my hand through my hair. That was the thing with Abe – you could never get a straight answer with him. He always tended to talk in roundabout circles.

"She could be trouble," Abe said at last. "We have yet to have a good experience with that blasted lot."

I agreed. No one in the 'Peak Fitness' family seemed to have much luck with the FBI.

"He résumé's spotless, Abe. Will you have an answer if she questions why we didn't want to employ her?

"You could tell her that we're not hiring."

I rolled my eyes. "Not possible. We've got several advertisements currently running."

"Tell her she's not suitably qualified."

"Tanner's already told her that her level of qualification is fine," I told him as I rubbed my brow.

"I don't want another Janine incident, Belikov."

The Janine incident wasn't something Abe was proud of, nor was it something widely known. I'd only learned the story a few years earlier when I'd found him in his bedroom, drunk and sitting cross-legged on the floor surrounded by stuffed animals and small tea-drinking toys. That was the one and only time I'd ever witnessed Ibrahim Mazur throwing a tea-party. Hopefully it was also the last.

I'd taken away the little cup he'd been 'drinking' from and cleared away some of his stuffed animals so that I could kneel in front of him. I'd gone to help him up when I noticed that his face was red, tears tracks running down his face. I had a little bit more than shocking to see Ibrahim Mazur cry and so I completely sat down, unsure of what to do.

I didn't need to do anything, as it turned out. I'd barely crossed my own legs when Abe launched into his tale.

His tale started out before he had anything to do with 'Peak Fitness'. He'd been young at the time, living in Russia and working for a man named Boris. Boris owned a music shop where Abe had worked casually working stock and operating registers. That music shop was also a front for drug trafficking, with Boris being one of the biggest dealers in Omsk. However, Abe hadn't known about the drugs. How could he? He'd worked daylight hours in between university study and rarely had the chance to leave the shop floor.

Enter Mary, a fiery, red-headed woman with a Scottish accent. She and Abe had fallen head-over-heels in love in the short time they'd spent together. They moved in together and Mary also got a job working for Boris. They were happy together, or so Abe had thought. During their seventh month together, he'd gone to work only to find the building swarming with FBI agents. Apparently, Boris was an American drug lord who'd been hiding out in Russia. There, amongst all the other agents stood Mary clad in FBI uniform – who was being patted and praised at by the other agents. Only they weren't calling her Mary. No, they were calling her Agent Hathaway, calling her Janine but not calling her Mary. He'd realised then that she'd played him – that she'd been investigating him all along. Abe was never put in prison because they couldn't find any hard evidence of involvement despite Janine's ongoing efforts.

Completely despaired, he'd gone home to wait for her. To wait for her explanation. It never came for when he got there all her belongings were gone, as was she. A few days later he'd been cleaning when he found a pregnancy test in their bathroom bin. A pink and white stick with a little plus in the little circular window.

He was a dad and till this day, he still hadn't met his child. That night I'd found him crying was the anniversary of the day he'd found the test. The tea-party was his way of mourning the daughter he'd never get to meet.

Abe wasn't fond of the FBI and I didn't blame him one bit. My own best friend had been shot to death at their hands for reasons I still didn't understand. However, Abe's issues and my issues were not of this girls doing and not hiring her for past employment was incredibly unfair.

"Abe," I spoke, finally deciding where I stood. "This girl has left them and I'm not running a dodgy business. I have nothing to hide from her. I'm okay with giving her a chance. Will you be?"

He cleared his throat. "I'm surprised. I'm not the only one with issues with them."

"No," I agreed. "But this girl's openly admitting that she worked for them. She's not hiding anything, Abe."

"What about Iv-"

"-She wasn't there when they murdered him. I've seen her photo. If she was with them when they killed Ivan I would have remembered her face."

"What about my business? You and I both know that not all of my dealings are entirely legal. You'd be willing to have an ex-FBI agent get involved in that? There are things that have been drilled into her, Belikov. Leaving their employment does not mean that she's forgotten everything she stood for."

"Who you let into your business is your business. I'm proposing hiring the girl to work for _me _at the gym. There is no need for you or your dealings to get involved with her. She will work for me - not you. You'll never have to meet her and she';; never need to know what you do."

He was silent again for a few minutes before speaking slowly. "If I were to say I approve, what would you do?"

"I'd ask Tanner to call her in for an interview."

"I need you here for the meeting."

"And I'm on my way. I'm at the airport but my flights been delayed. I trust Tanner – he can conduct the interview and give me a recap. Then I'll decide whether or not we hire her."

"Well then, I'm sold. Get Mikhail to call her."


End file.
